Modifying residents' professional attitudes about substance abuse treatment and training.

Abstract

Some physicians have negative attitudes and beliefs towards patients with addiction. Moreover, few residents are inclined towards a subspecialty fellowship in addiction psychiatry. We aimed to determine if a one-day educational conference could facilitate attitudinal change among 52 general psychiatry residents. Significant changes (p < 0.05) in attitudes were reported following the conference, including enhanced beliefs that physicians can motivate their addicted patients to seek treatment and increased physician interest in pursuing advanced addiction training. A one-day educational intervention may be effective in improving professional attitudes toward addiction treatment by reinforcing previously acquired medical education. The duration of these changes remains to be determined.